NYICFF ’11: Echoes of the Rainbow

Fifty years ago, there were still quiet family neighborhoods in Hong Kong, where everyone knew everyone’s business. Writer-director Alex Law pays tribute to this innocent world of his youth gone by in the unabashedly sentimental Echoes of the Rainbow (trailer here), Hong Kong’s recent official submission for best foreign language Oscar consideration, which screens during the 2011 New York International Film Festival.

Shot on-location around historic Wing Lee Street, Rainbow saved that last remnant of “old” (meaning 1960’s era) Hong Kong from redevelopment after his partly autobiographical feature won the 2010 Berlin Film Festival’s Crystal Bear in the children’s division. Run down, but respectable, it is a neighborhood where a cobbler’s family might live. Times are difficult, but the Law Family sacrifices for the sake of older brother Desmond’s education. A star in the classroom and on the track field, all their hopes rest in him.

As for the slightly klepto younger brother, not so much. However, “Big Ears” has his own dreams of becoming an astronaut. This explains the fishbowl he often wears around town like a space-helmet. In fact, fish factor prominently in Rainbow. Desmond fights and bonds with his younger brother over the fish they keep. Fish also play a role in the older Law’s tentative courtship of the ridiculously cute Flora. Unfortunately, just about every imaginable tear-jerking complication will thwart their budding romance.

There is absolutely no irony in Rainbow—zero, none. Instead, it wears its heart on its sleeve, which is rather endearing. Buzz Chung is a legitimately charismatic young actor, who handles Big Ears’ heavy dramatic moments quite convincingly. Aarif Rahman and Evelyn Choi should also well satisfy tweener fans of sappy CW/WB youth soaps.

Yet, Simon Lam provides the real heart of the film as Mr. Law. His initial appearance is deceptively simple, a grunting man hunched over his workbench. Slowly but surely, Lam expresses with exquisite nuance all the dignity, humility, and desperation of a father who only wants a better life for his sons. It is also rewarding for American audiences to watch Lam in such a departure from his frequent gangster roles in Johnnie To movies (even though those are profoundly cool). Known more for comedic turns, Sandra Oh does a bit of fast-talking as Mrs. Law, but develops some genuinely touching chemistry with Lam. They are painfully believable as struggling parents and as a long married couple.

Shot with gauzy sensitivity by cinematographer Charlie Lam, every aspect of Rainbow aches with wistful nostalgia. Though it is certainly melodramatic at times, the film’s honesty and sweetness cannot be denied. Probably too tragic for small children, many parents and pre-teens should find it an engaging respite from the jaded cynicism of Hollywood. Yet another official foreign language Oscar submission that is considerably better than this year’s winner, Rainbow screens Saturday March 19th at the Asia Society as part of the 2011 NYICFF.

NYICFF ’11: Shorts

The Academy still shows its love for shorts and it’s a good thing too. Luke Matheny’s acceptance speech for God of Love was about the only part of this year’s broadcast to get good reviews. In truth, all the winning shorts were rather strong this year, including the animated winner, The Lost Thing, which the New York International Children’s Film Festival had already fortuitously selected for this year’s festival.

While Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann’s The Lost Thing (trailer here) is based on a children’s book (written and illustrated by Tan) and is suitable for all ages, it is told from the reflective perspective of a man of somewhat mature age wistfully looking back on a mysterious event from his childhood. Discovering some sort of alien or fantastical creature at the beach (apparently a mollusk in an armored tea kettle), the narrator tries to figure out what to do with this new friend that the adult world tries its best to ignore. A strange but gentle fable, Thing is visually arresting and surprisingly meditative. One of three worthy nominees, it was arguably the most substantive of the animated field.

Though hardly for mature audiences, Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata’s Something Left, Something Taken might be the first NYICFF selection tackle a serial killer storyline. CSI-junkie Max and his indulgent girlfriend Ru have come to San Francisco for a forensic lecture on the Zodiac Killer, but fear they may have accepted a ride from the good Dr. Janno’s subject. Featuring a variety of filmmaking techniques and vaguely South Parky looking characters, Something has a subversive sense of humor that will definitely appeal to ostensibly adult animation junkies.

Of course, adulthood brings its own challenges. One elderly jazz musician plays a one-man requiem to his former bandmates in Jeanett Nørgaard, Marie M. T. Tørslev, Marie Jørgensen, and Mette Ilene Holmriis’ touching Leitmotif. Elegant, sad, but most definitely swinging, it crystallizes the tragic dignity of so many forgotten musicians, in about seven minutes.

Yet, for absolute heartbreak, it is hard to beat the nine focused minutes of Chloé Zhao’s live action short Daughters. China is a country that seems to mass produce anguish. It is also known for its marked preference for boys rather over girls, which accounts for the looming shortage of marriageable women under China’s restrictive family planning policies. With a coveted baby boy on the way, the parents of fourteen year-old Maple suddenly have one daughter too many. Coldly pragmatic, they see only two options. Either they foist off her sweetly trusting younger sister on a distant family member or they arrange her marriage to a disturbingly old man. Not surprisingly, such news causes confusion and resentment for the young teen.

Despite its brevity, Daughters features a devastating lead performance from Luo Qian as Maple. Undeniably assured filmmaking, Daughters is all the more impressive considering it was the NYU alumnus’s second year film.

Given the subject matter and its memorable young cast, it is particularly appropriate that Daughters screens as part of NYICFF’s special Girls’ POV Shorts block (recommended for ages ten and up) next Saturday (3/12) and the following Sunday (3/20). Something also fittingly screens during the Heebie Jeebies block of spooky shorts (ages ten and up) this Saturday (3/5) and March 26th, while both Leitmotif and Thing screen as part of Short Films Two (ages eight to adult) on March 5th, 6th, 13th, and 26th.

NYICFF ’11: Time of Eve

As usual, Isaac Asimov got it right. In the future, robots follow his three laws. However, there are still a lot of grey areas for androids, including the very nature of their existence. Two high school students grapple with the notion of human-android relations in Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s Time of Eve (trailer here), a surprisingly smart science fiction anime feature adapted from his webseries, which screens during the 2011 New York International Children's Film Festival.

It is “the future, probably Japan.” “Android-holic” is a mean derogatory term usually applied to those who say “please” and “thank you” to the household robots. They look human and are programmed not just to learn, but to apply new knowledge. Some would be dashed difficult to tell apart from humans if it were not for the rotating rings hovering above their heads. However, there are a number of underground mixer clubs, like The Time of Eve, where humans and androids sans rings meet on equal footing.

When Rikuo Sakisaka and his classmate Masakazu Masaki stumble into the plucky Nagi’s titular cafe, they are not sure what to make of the place or her clientele. Indeed, their human vs. android assumptions often turn out to be wrong. The coffee is good though. For whatever reason, they keep coming back. However, the quasi-governmental “Ethics Committee” led by Masaki’s father is out to shutdown such establishments.

While the use of androids (or aliens) as a proxy for other more traditional forms of prejudice is a long established sci-fi convention, Eve tackles the question of what constitutes humanity in intriguing ways. Wisely, it never comes close to resolving the big picture question of how human an android can legitimately become. In fact, though it concludes with a temporary sense of closure, more Eve is clearly projected, with the (presumably) first installment only hinting at the shape of the shadowy meta-conspiracy.

Driven by story and ideas, Eve is an impressive foray into social science fiction. Though it is anime, the very same script could be adapted as a live action feature with relatively few special effects required. That is a good thing. Still, Eve’s animation is a cut above the anime industry standard, nicely expressing the do-they-or-don’t-they nuance of the androids’ emotional uncertainty.

Though it has nothing objectionable for younger viewers, Eve’s speculative nature and psychological complexity is clearly intended for smart kids and sophisticated fanboys. Cleverly written and executed, it definitely leaves viewers wanting more. Recommended beyond the traditional anime audience, Eve screens as part of the soon to open NYICFF next Saturday (3/12) at Symphony Space and the following Saturday (3/19) at the Asia Society, with tickets still available for the latter date.

NYICFF ’11: Welcome to the Space Show

Are five kids enough to save the world? Throw in a talking dog and you’re pretty much set, assuming it is an anime universe. Though the Japanese elementary students only expected to catch-up on some studying and generally get on each others’ nerves during their annual end-of-summer camp-out, they find themselves on a tour of outer space in Koji Masunari’s Welcome to the Space Show (trailer here), a science fiction anime feature appropriate for all ages that screens during the fast-approaching 2011 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Since the summer is almost over, the Fab Five are about to enjoy a week without parents, under the supervision of Kiyoshi, a compulsively responsible sixth grader. Amane, an otherwise sweet-tempered second grader, has been feuding with her tomboyish fifth-grader cousin Natsuki. Rounding out their ranks are Koji the third-grade bookworm and the shy fourth-grader Noriko (who doesn’t really get a schtick). Roaming through the forest, they stumble across an injured dog, who they patch up as best they can. A fast healer, he surprises everyone when he pops up and introduces himself as “Pochi” a traveler from another planet.

Out of gratitude, Pochi takes them on a quick tour of the Moon, including all the cool parts we never see from Earth. Unfortunately, his report of his terrestrial escape is a bit too effective, grounding space transit between the Earth and its satellite. Now the kids will have to make a connection through Pochi’s dog planet, but they have attracted the unwanted attention of some strange creatures. Evidently, wasabi is like the Melange spice in Dune and Natsuki is carrying a big bag full of the contraband. Schemes are afoot that seem to involve the Space Show, a wildly popular tripped-out variety show featuring a pop idol canine whom Pochi has decidedly mixed feelings about.

Masunari creates some lushly bizarre alien worlds and delights in the eccentricities of his aliens. Welcome always looks great, but reality show superstar Susan Boyle’s “Who I was Born to Be” sounds weird beyond words as the film’s theme song. Of course, there are also lots of talking dogs (what kid wouldn’t dig that?). In fact, Pochi is probably both the film’s most nuanced character and its most expressive figure. Fittingly, he is frequently paired with Amane, the sharpest delineated of the humans.

With its kids vs. the world themes, Welcome definitely skews towards younger viewers. There are also plenty of appropriate lessons about the value of friendship and teamwork. Yet, it is the film’s ever-present sense of wonder that sci-fi fans will appreciate. Good for kids and okay for adults, Welcome screens on March 6th, 12th, and 20th at NYICFF venues throughout the City.

NYICFF ’11: A Cat in Paris

Paris is a playground for an adventurous cat like Dino. By day, he is the loyal tabby of the police superintendent’s daughter. By night, he joins the nocturnal adventures of an actual cat burglar, climbing the city’s ornate masonry and gothic gargoyles. The City of Lights rarely looked as beautiful on the big screen as it does in Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Feliciolli’s animated feature A Cat in Paris (trailer here), which has its American premiere at the 2011 New York International Film Festival.

Young Zoe has not spoken a word since her father was murdered by gangster Victor Costa. Her copper mother is too busy working the case to help her adequately work through her grief. She spends most her time with Dino, who enjoys bringing her little presents, like small dead animals and the occasional diamond bracelet. One night Zoe follows on Dino as he slinks off to join the Rafflesesque Nico, only to stumble across the Costa gang. The chase is on, across the stylishly rendered Parisian cityscape.

The hand-drawn Cat is a wonderful antidote for the mass-produced computer animation constantly dumped into multiplexes. These figures have an idiosyncratic look that deliberately evokes a sophisticated Parisian sensibility. If Toulouse Lautrec was resurrected to craft an animated film, he would probably look up Gagnol and Feliciolli.

Indeed, the city is an integral part of film, right down to its fitting conclusion at Notre Dame. Though clearly produced with young viewers in mind, the romantic urban backdrops, the hat-tips to film noir, and the jazz-influenced soundtrack (including a vintage Billie Holiday rendition of “I Wished on the Moon”) will keep parents and other ostensive adults quite engaged. A well constructed feature, Gagnol and Feliciolli maintain a brisk pace, while showing the action from dramatic angles that further heightens the noir appeal.

Cat is a thoroughly charming film with genuine heart and just enough attitude to avoid cloyingness. Though admittedly brief at sixty-five minutes, it packs a lot into that time, including some very cool closing credits. NYICFF and gKids have a good eye for animated features, having previously selected intelligent and artfully crafted features like Sita Sings the Blues and In the Attic for previous festivals. The tradition continues this year with Cat and some first-rate anime imports. Highly recommended, Cat screens at NYICFF on March 5th, 6th, 12th, 13, and 19th, but it appears tickets are only still available for Saturday the 12th, so act fast.